From Shira Haas to Joey King, these Jewish celebs are speaking out on Israel protests
Published March 31, 2023
Watching the situation unfolding in Israel right now from miles and miles away, it’s honestly hard to keep my composure. For weeks, Israelis having been marching in the streets of Tel Aviv, protesting a planned judicial overhaul that would take power away from Israel’s supreme court.
It all came to a head in Israel this Sunday when Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu fired his defense minister, Yoav Galant, for calling for a month-long pause on the overhaul. Hundreds of thousands of Israelis took to the street, lit bonfires, waved flags and sang the “Tikvah” — Israel’s national anthem — while decrying the far right government. Counter protests, supporting the government, also took place. This Monday, Netanyahu announced that he will delay the judiciary reform — a big but temporary win for the many many Israelis who took to the streets against it.
Among the Israelis decrying the government and its choice in the streets and on social media, you may see some familiar faces. Here is what some of Israel’s biggest stars had to say about the situation in the country.
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Joey King
Jewish actress Joey King, who is about to star in a new show about the Holocaust from Hulu, shared a story about the situation in Israel on her Instagram.
“The people of Israel are united. Mass protests have been going on for weeks against the Israeli prime minister who is tearing apart the country’s democracy,” she wrote. “The images of everyone marching through the streets fighting for their rights are so powerful. I’m sending love and strength to all my friends in Israel.”
Shira Haas
Shira Haas, of “Shtisel” and “Unorthodox” fame, shared a thoughtful, heartfelt message on her Instagram stories.
Maya Wertheimer
If you’re never watched “The New Black,” you might not know Maya Wertheimer, a super funny and charming Israeli TV star who plays Deborah in the show — and honestly, you should.
Wertheimer is also the wife of Asaf Zamir, who, as of today, resigned from his position as Israeli consul to the U.S. following Galant’s firing.
“Today’s dangerous decision to fire the minister of defense convinced me that I can no longer continue to represent this government,” Zamir wrote in his resignation letter.
Maya shared a supportive note for her husband on Instagram, writing in Hebrew, “I’m proud of you and love you for fighting for all of us as citizens of equal rights, for the fight for democracy… your heart is in the right place and my heart is with you.”
Alona Tal
Alona Tal, who you may know as Meg from “Veronica Mars,” is taking comfort in her newborn child and sharing messages of solidarity with Israelis.
“The situation in Israel is insane,” she wrote in her Instagram stories, explaining that, “baby feet calm me down.” She added, “I’m proud of all the hundreds of thousands of my fellow Israeli men and women who are doing all they can, week after week, to oppose this nightmare of a government. If I was home, I would be there with you. Bravo.”
Lior Raz
“Fauda” showrunner and star Lior Raz is currently in Brazil. From there, he shared Galant’s resignation message, in which the politician wrote that “the security of our country will always and forever remain my life’s mission,” and wrote in his Instagram stories that he draws the line at security and called Galant’s firing a shonda.
Rotem Sela
Rotem Sela, the star of “The Baker and the Beauty” and who just won best actress for her role in the series “A Body That Works,” has also taken to the streets to march against Galant’s firing and the political reform. “A country that has lost its way,” she wrote in her Instagram stories. “I’m scared.”
Hila Saada
The bewitching Hila Saada of “The Beauty Queen of Jerusalem” and “The Baker and the Beauty” is currently skiing in the Dolomites, but shared her solidarity for Galant’s resignation message in her Instagram stories, as well as a photo of someone waving an Israeli flag at the same Dolomite resort.
Amit Rahav
Amit Rahav, the gifted “Unorthodox” star who is about to appear in Netflix’s extremely promising “Transatlantic,” is currently in Romania, but that didn’t stop him from sharing pictures from the protests by photojournalist Alex Farfuri in his Instagram stories. “What a powerful night,” he wrote in Hebrew about the pictures from Sunday night’s protests. He also shared a picture of himself watching the news from the European country.
Tomer Capon
Tomer Capon, the Israeli TV actor who stars in Amazon’s “The Boys,” shared images from the protests and captioned themm “Democracy peace love unity,” and, “There will be no dictatorship in this country.”
He also shared a meme to remind us that “it’s always darkest before the dawn.”
Bar Refaeli
Israeli supermodel Bar Refaeli called Gallant’s firing a shame in her Instagram stories. She shared a quote from Israeli author David Grossman: “Every time I go to a protest or I need to write a political article, I think about this man who stood for years and protested against the war in Vietnam. For years, every Friday, he stood for two hours, with a sign. In the end, a journalist went up to him and asked him, with a kind of derision, “Tell me sir, do you really think you can change the world?” and he said, ‘No, I’m just making sure the world doesn’t change me.’ Sometimes, that’s the most we can hope for in a situation as distorted as ours.”
Swell Ariel Or
“The Beauty Queen of Jerusalem” herself took to the streets. “Even if you think it’s late — it’s not. I’m on my way,” she said in an Instagram story late Sunday night. She also shared a meme that reads, “You can love Israel & protest its government.”